Hollyn Johnson | The Bay City Times
Bay City Fire Chief Greg Michalek looks at damage from a fire that started in the attic of Bay City Hall, Tuesday October 12, 2010.

BAY CITY â Bay City Hall will be closed the rest of the week as crews clean-up major water and smoke damage after an attic fire this afternoon.

City officials also will be assessing the four-story building for structural damage.Â

Fire Chief Gregory Michalek said the fire began in the attic in the southwest portion of the building. It is believed to be an electrical fire, but the city's fire inspector was on scene tonight continuing his investigation.

The damage was worst on the fourth floor, where planning, zoning and redevelopment departments are housed. Fire crews had to rip down ceiling tiles and drywall and insulation to reach the fire in the attic.Â

"When I first arrived, the attic was full of smoke," Michalek said. "You could see active flames burning up the walls into the attic."

Hollyn Johnson | The Bay City Times
Senior Fire Investigator Robert Puddy of Rehmann Corporate Investigative Services photographs damage from a fire that started in the attic of Bay City Hall, Tuesday October 12, 2010.

Crews first responded to City Hall, 301 Washington Ave., at about 12:45 p.m. They cleared the scene shortly before 5:30 p.m.

The city's sprinkler system, which ran for more than an hour while crews fought the fire, also caused extensive damage throughout the building. An inch-deep pool of water covered the first floor and soaked ceiling tiles had fallen down in several rooms.

The part of the building that houses the engineering department, on third floor of the building was hit the hardest with flooding from the sprinklers, said City Manager Robert Belleman.

City staff, along with crews from SERVPRO, a water and fire cleanup company, were pulling equipment out of City Hall â including dozens of voting machines.Â

Belleman said City Hall will remain closed the rest of the week and main operations will be moved to Central Fire Station on Center Avenue. A skeleton crew will answer phones and other employees will continue to pull important documents from the building.